Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 6:30 pm ($5): Chris Gethard (star of Comedy Central’s Big Lake; author of Weird New York; The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives) is one of the most razor-sharp and uproariously funny storytellers in the country. Chris is reviving his wonderful one-man show for one night only, and it should not be missed: Chris Gethard’s Magic Box of Stories

8:00 pm to Midnight ($5): Four full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes DeCoster, Badman, Bastian, Ragnaröck, and The Opera, followed by small groups of UCBT students each performing long scenes that seem to have nothing in common with each other but magically converge at the end, all at Harold Night

Brenna Palughi will burn up the stage tonight at the wonderful theatrical improv show Naked in a Fishbowl

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open-mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story…and if it’s a good one, possibly be included in Kevin’s popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm ($15 at the door on $18.50 online with discount code FISHFAN): My #1 pick for the 2007 FringeNYC Festival, this wonderful group of actresses/improvisors portray characters as if they were in a play, but improvise everything they say and do. The luminous performers include Katharine Heller, Brenna Palughi, Lynne Rosenberg, Lauren Seikaly, and Molly Knefel, each of whom is immensely appealing and quick-witted. Further, they have an intimate, lovely chemistry with each other; and they’ve all committed to baring their personal lives, thinly disguised via their characters (hence the title’s Naked). As a result, this is one of the most honest & nuanced improvised shows you’ll ever see.

In last week’s episode, Brenna Palughi punched out a guy Molly Knefel’s character was dating—cutting Molly down to just one boyfriend, and making Brenna a candidate for Molly’s now-vacant #2 spot. (No video exists because of technical difficulties; but it was rapid-fire, intimate, and among the girls’ best ever.)

Although every episode is a wonderful theatrical event, readers of this site no longer have to pay theatrical prices; you can see this show for a mere $15 by mentioning code FISHFAN at the door. Check out some videos of previous episodes here; and then get in the habit of attending the Soho Playhouse to experience the always fresh and surprising Naked in a Fishbowl

[FREE] 11:00 pm: If you’re an audience member who loves stand-up, Monday at 11 should beWhiplash! night (see listing above). If you’re a comic who couldn’t get booked on Leo’s show, though, you can opt to instead practice your skills on this new stand-up open-mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and Erin Lennox: Fresh

[$] 12:30 am ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who’s written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle’s Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney

7:00 pm ($8): “Where there is a stage and a piano, she will be there. Where there are strangers with embarrassing stories, she will be there. Where there is a group of people willing to sit and watch someone make up songs, she will be there. A one-woman musical improv journey through the lives of the audience. You tell the story, Rebecca Vigil sings the soundtrack:” The Vigilante

[$] 12:30 am ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who’s written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle’s Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy are sparse, as most of the usual suspects are dark for Thanksgiving. If you aren’t at home with loved ones, though, here are a few shows to consider:

[$] 10:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who’s written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle’s Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney

For this blog’s typically more extensive listings, please tune in here again on Friday.

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Real-life siblings Will Hines (The Stepfathers) and Kevin Hines (Reuben Williams) perform stellar improv as The Brothers Hines; and in the other half of this double-bill, Nicole Shabtai performs a one-woman show about “illustrious a 13-year-old socialite and notorious Upper East Side private schooler we all love to hate” as Citizen Rothstein

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): A one-woman show from the hilarious Pam Murphy about breast cancer (which I’ll be eagerly attending tonight); and Geoff Garlock and Emily Strachan are friends bonded by their love of Randy Quaid who attend an epic Quaid-con, in the double-bill Pam Murphy: The C Word and Gettin’ Quaid